A partnership aimed at reducing anti-social behaviour by offshore workers travelling on trains to and from the north-east of Scotland has been successful, according to police, trade unions and train operators.
After an increase in what the authorities term unsavoury incidents and concerns raised by rail staff, British Transport Police (BTP) joined forces with the RMT to remind those from the industry of the requirement under Railway Byelaws to be fit to travel and conduct themselves in an acceptable way while using trains.
Since August, BTP officers based at Aberdeen have monitored the conduct of passengers from the offshore industry arriving at and departing from the city’s railway station and their behaviour on the trains they travelled on.
Sergeant Ashley Forbes of BTP, who co-ordinated the initiative, said: “BTP officers travelled on 350 trains to monitor more than 2,000 workers on services between Aberdeen, Inverness, Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as cross-border services as far as Newcastle.
“There is no doubt that the conduct of those from the offshore industry using the rail network has noticeably improved since the joint problem solving plan commenced last year. It is pleasing that the warnings issued by BTP and the train operators appear, in the main, to have been heeded.”
Sergeant Forbes added: “There will be no complacency and officers will continue to carry out high-visibility patrols at stations and on trains and work with our rail industry partners to tackle the issue. We have made it clear that passengers and rail staff, who may also be RMT members, should be able to travel and work with encountering alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour, which is often experienced when offshore workers are travelling.”
Willie Strang, of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers trade union, added: “The RMT has proactively worked with British Transport Police by highlighting the issue of anti-social behaviour in union journals which are sent to members in the rail and offshore sector. We have also seen some positive change in the attitudes from offshore workers towards us and hope this continues.”
David Lister, ScotRail’s sustainability and safety assurance director, said: “The vast majority of our services to and from Aberdeen operate without any issues. However, we fully support the efforts of BTP and RMT to reduce the small number of incidents that do occur.
“Ensuring the safety and security of our customers and staff, and that our passengers have a comfortable journey, is of great importance to us. We welcome the results of this joint initiative to help achieve this.”
